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Isaiah 45:15-Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!
One of the more disturbing and difficult attributes of the Almighty that we often grapple with is what theologians have often termed “the hiddenness of God.” Why is God sometimes so difficult to find? He is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:26-28), so why does He at times seem to be uninvolved in our lives? Why does we so often not feel or appreciate His Presence when we go through periods of grief or testing?
Perhaps part of the answer is found in realizing that God has to maintain a degree of hiddenness in order to allow mankind to truly have and utilize freewill.
Years ago, brother Thomas B. Warren elaborated on this:
“Further, in order for man to be free, he would have to live in an environment in which there was neither an overwhelming “tug” (persuasion) in the direction toward God nor one in the direction away from God. Two extreme situations would have to be avoided: a situation in which man lived directly in the presence of God, and a situation in which he did not have an adequate manifestation (or evidence) of God’s existence. The environment which man needed would have to be one in which man would be at an “epistemic distance” 30 from God yet not so far away as to preclude his freely making his own decision to come to God in love and submission (to live truly as a son of God). This means that for man to be truly free in relation to God, his environment must be one which makes it possible for man to consider the world without immediately and automatically deducing the existence of God from that consideration. Yet, at the same time, we assume that it must be an environment from which it is possible to deduce correctly that God does exist. For one man, the world may veil God; for another man it may reveal him. This is as it must be–if man is to be truly free. He can feel the “tug” to choose the world (by becoming self-centered) rather than the “tug” to choose God (by becoming God-centered–and, to some lesser extent, brother-centered). At the same time, however, he lives in a world which declares (to him who will allow himself to see it) the glory of God. 31 This declaration is at least part of the “tug” in the direction toward God.” (Thomas B. Warren, Have Atheists Proved There Is No God? 707-717 (Kindle Edition): Glasgow, KY: National Christian Press)
God has given enough evidence of His existence and goodness so that those objectively seeking Him may find Him, while at the same time He hides Himself to such a degree that those who hate Him are free to reject Him. When viewed from these vantage points, we come to realize that the hiddenness of God can be one of His greatest blessings.
“Perhaps it is a measure of God’s grace and kindness to hide from us until Christ comes again. For, in His unusual way, God leaves plenty of room for each of us to freely pursue Him on our own initiative — not just because we have to, but because we really want to. God didn’t have to arrange life in this particular way, so that we actually had a choice in the matter. He could have designed humanity so that both our hardware and our software were programmed to love God mechanically. Just as in a toy factory, all of us could have been programmed to proclaim our prerecorded praises. Pull the string and we’d chirp in unison, “I love You, God. I thank You, God.” That way we would automatically love God, whether we wanted to or not. But that’s not friendship; that’s playing with toys. That kind of an arrangement wouldn’t satisfy any of us, nor would it satisfy God. Any genuine friendship requires that both parties willingly seek each other in love. It just can’t be coerced. God desires that kind of love relationship with all of His children, one in which we freely seek and pursue Him on our own, desiring to grow in our relationship with Him…. But how does a majestic, infinite, and ever-present God develop a growing love relationship with people who are frail and finite human beings? How can God develop a mutually loving friendship with believers without forcing us into it, without using divine strong-arm tactics? Acting just like a gentleman, God doesn’t force His full presence on us but partially hides Himself to encourage a genuine and continuing response of friendship. God gives us the relational space we need to develop a real friendship. Think about it: The God of the universe is willing to cloak His greatness so He won’t overwhelm us or coerce our friendship. That’s another paradox: God must hide in order to reveal Himself to us. But we shouldn’t misinterpret God’s intentions, thinking this relational distance means He doesn’t care about us. Quite the opposite. God has been dreaming about cultivating a deep, personal relationship with each one of us for eternity. And He has been willing to pay the ultimate price to make this relationship possible—through the death of His Son Jesus on the cross, for “in him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3: 12). The majestic, all-powerful God woos us to Himself through His humility, weakness, and complete self-giving. But He continues to hide Himself to give us the room we need to freely respond to His love and grow into a deeper relationship with Him. So, the goal of God’s hiding is to experience the joy of being pursued, of having us draw near to Him as James 4: 8 urges us: “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (J.P. Moreland & Klaus Issler, Lost Virtue of Happiness: Discovering the Disciplines of the Good Life, 134-136 (Kindle Edition): Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress)
God can “distance” Himself from us at times for our own good. When we do not always “feel” the Presence of God, that can motivate us to seek Him more earnestly, to seek out and study His Word more diligently. We are also reminded that God’s silence does not mean His absence. The Lord was silent during the terrible testing and trying of Job, yet He was present and aware (Job 38-42; James 5:11).
So when God seems hidden from you, seek Him with all your heart. Trust that He will reveal Himself to you more fully at the appropriate time (Jeremiah 29:13), and that He will never leave you nor forsake you through all that you face (Hebrews 13:5).
Isaiah 8:17-And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.
Psalm 44:24-26-Why do You hide Your face, And forget our affliction and our oppression? 25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; Our body clings to the ground. 26 Arise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.
Lord, when the darkness of this life obscures our sight and You are hidden from view, draw near and walk with us. Guide us gently each step of the way in this difficult life, and we thank You for understanding our hardship and struggle. Amen.